The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) has suspended 17 professional golfers for participating in the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Invitational Tournament at Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida, between September 17 and September 19.
The suspension list includes some of the most prominent names in Indian golf, ANI reports. Bhullar, one of India’s most successful golfers, has represented the country at the Olympic Games and is a multiple-time Asian Tour winner. His suspension, alongside players such as Aman Raj, Harendra Gupta, Karandeep Kochhar and Sachin Baisoya, has led to outrage across the golfing community.
Players are now considering approaching the courts to “restore fairness and uniformity within PGTI”, the newswire further reports. There are already two cases filed by players sitting before the Delhi High Court, the most recent being one by Ranjeet Singh and Kapil Kumar.
The move has drawn severe criticism as the players were not even part of the entry or waiting list of the Chennai Open conducted by PGTI on the same dates.
Being outside the Chennai Open entry list, the players participated in the IGPL event. However, the Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) of PGTI, comprising five members, issued show cause notices and simultaneously passed suspension orders. It was reported by players that the DAC had overreached its authority, as it has no power to issue interim suspension orders prior to the completion of a full enquiry.
Players told ANI that they have been unfairly targeted by PGTI for participating in IGPL tournaments, whereas many players, including members of the Governing Body and members of the DAC themselves, also participated in a tournament held in Pune on the same dates as the PGTI Tournament Next Gen.
